Landscape Information
Intended as a campus for Levi Strauss, Inc., where its workers could relax and have lunch, and as an open space for the enjoyment of the local Embarcadero community, the park was dedicated on April 8, 1982, to “the employees of Levi Strauss.” Conceived as two distinct entities, Halprin’s design includes a paved plaza enclosed by four-to-ten-story buildings (by architects HOK and Gensler + Associates), as well as (to the east of the plaza) a pastoral park with a series of cascading waterfalls and a meandering stream. Although the park is situated along the heavily trafficked Embarcadero, it is quiet and calm, sheltered by a hedge along the eastern boundary with grassy knolls, mature canopy trees, and curving paths giving it a sense of seclusion.
In the plaza, a fountain acts as a focal point and incorporates a hulking piece of carnelian granite at its center, personally selected by Halprin during his research on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. The granite for both projects was supplied by the same quarry. Until 2003, Halprin’s office was located adjacent to the park, on Battery Street, and during this time Halprin consulted on all aspects of the park's design and management.
